Alvin Lim is the Global Talent Marketing Lead at Dyson. He has more than 15 years of experience in the field of HR. He has worked for brands such as SEAAGE (South East Asian Association of Graduate Employers), Universum, Good People Consulting, Maximum Asia, Diggari Pty Ltd, and Singapore Press Holdings. He specializes in creating employer value propositions via a research-backed process, working with the movers and shakers at all levels of the organization up to the C-Suite to deliver solutions-led digital transformation that addresses recruitment pain points and ultimately delivers a differentiating and exceptional candidate experience. He was a part of the NUS HRLP 2023 cohort and shares his experience of the program.
How was your overall experience of the program?
The program experience was amazing. It was a journey of sharing and learning about the future of work, leadership processes and communications, and data-driven HR strategy.
How was the peer group experience?
It has been a great experience to study with such a passionate and brilliant group of fellow learners from across APAC. It was fun to sharpen my skills and share a classroom with my fellow HR executives from this part of the world.
What stood out for you in this program?
One of the highlights of the program for me was understanding why psychological safety was important in unlocking a high performance culture. I understood that in a world where knowledge is power, a fearless organization minimizes interpersonal fear and
promotes a culture of learning, innovation, and growth; how knowledge is used, shared, and used as a force multiplier; how to avoid a culture where we have silos operating with unproductive personal politics or one where the loudest voice wins; and lastly, how to create spaces for all to thrive. I really loved how “high performance” showed up in our word cloud, as pointed out by Prof. Michael Jenkins.
What were your learnings from the program?
One of the speakers inspired me to think of belief as a driving force. There are 3 important insights that I took away from the session:
1. HR doesn’t automatically deserve a seat at the table. That seat is earned.
2. Partnering with the businesses also means being present for them in their troubled times. It’s not just about driving highly visible projects and constantly talking about the number of people you trained and the output you delivered. It is also about the unglamorous bits of getting the operational things done that win trust. Sometimes these jobs can be very thankless, but people remember how you helped them get over the hump and that you stayed for the bumpy ride.
3. Self-belief is important, even if it feels like the odds are all stacked against you. Believe that you have what it takes to make a difference.